Publication Abstract

Managing the multi-species South African pelagic fishery to incorporate conflicting rights-holder preferences

J.A.A. De Oliveira and D.S. Butterworth

Pilchard and anchovy are the main targets of the pelagic fishery, South Africa's second most valuable fishery in monetary terms, though producing the highest annual yield in terms of landed mass (in recent years a combined catch in the 400 thousand ton vicinity). It is the most dynamic of South Africa's main commercial fisheries, because the species it targets are relatively short-lived, often occur in mixed shoals and experience large fluctuations in abundance. Mixed shoaling causes operational problems for the pelagic fishery because of the inevitability of juvenile pilchard bycatch (more valued as adults for canning) in the anchovy directed fishery. The operational interactions imply a trade-off between allowable catches of these species, and necessitate that they are managed together. The paper describes the development of a joint "management procedure" (sensu IWC), which provides a framework for quantifying this trade-off such that acceptable levels of risk of "collapse" are not exceeded for either resource. A unique feature of this joint procedure is that it incorporates a mechanism for allowing rights holders to be allocated pilchard and anchovy quotas based on individual preferences with respect to the pilchard-anchovy trade-off. This avoids a compromise having to be reached between those rights holders that prefer pilchard (for canning) and those that prefer anchovy (for reduction), which would be necessary if this trade-off decision had instead to be made for the pelagic fishery as a whole.

Reference:

J.A.A. De Oliveira and D.S. Butterworth, 2003. Managing the multi-species South African pelagic fishery to incorporate conflicting rights-holder preferences.